Reciprocating receiving tray for meat slicing machines



C. KLINGENS Nov. 7, 1950 RECIPROCATING RECEIVING TRAY FOR MEAT SLICING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 13, 1946 Corns z's/f/z" Nov. 7, 1950 c. KLINGENS 2,528,888

RECIPROCATING RECEIVING TRAY FOR MEAT sucmc MACHINES Filed Nov. 15, 1946 2 Sheets-Shea; 2

wwy g Patented Nov. 7, 1950 RECIPROCATING RECEIVING TRAY FOR MEAT SLICING MACHINES Cornelis Klingens, La Porte, Ind., assignor to U S. Slicing Machine Company, Inc., a corporation of Indiana Application November 13, 1946, Serial No. 709,615 In Great Britain May 30, 1946 1 Claim. (Cl. 14694) This invention relates to reciprocating receiving trays for slicing machines in which the substance carrier and the slice receiver are movable to and fro, as an assembly, relatively to the slicing knife, and above a base forming part of the stationary frame of the machine.

One of the objects of the invention is to improve the means whereby the receiver assembly is supported and guided in its movement relative to the knife.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a slicing machine of the gravity-feed type, in which the substance receiver assembly is moved manually by push action, the receiver being movable past diiierent sides of the slicing knife, an improved construction whereby th receiver will be immediately in front of the operator, thereby enabling him to look upon the receiver as he is pushing and pulling the same.

A further object is to provide in a machine of this type, improved means whereby the receiving tray will be intermittently lowered during the operation of the machine, to compensate the size of the stack as the slices are cut and piled thereupon.

A still further object is to provide improved means for supporting and guiding the receiver assembly.

To the attainment of these ends, and the accomplishment of other new and useful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the features of novelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangement of the several parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawings illustrating this invention, in which Fig. 1 is a view, partly in end elevation and partly in section, of a slicing machine of this character, constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the slice receiver, and the means for lowering the same.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on line 33, Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral iii designates a supporting base of any desired or suitable construction, and which is hollow, having a slot H in the top thereof, the edges of the slot being upturned, as at I2, so as to prevent particles from falling therethrough. Mounted upon the base, and disposed at an incline with respect to the vertical, is a rotary slicing knife 13, with which an adjustable gauge 2 plate [4 for the article co-operates, whereby the thickness of the slice may be Varied.

This gauge plate forms an abutment for the article, parallel to the slicing plane, and is spaced from the slicing knife the extent of a slice thickness. The adjustment of this abutment may be accomplished in any suitable manner, well known in this art. The knife is rotated in any suitable manner, such as from a motor 15, mounted upon the base It), and through the medium of suitable driving connections [6.

Co-operating with an article support I1, upon which the article is fed to the slicing knife, is a pusher member 18, operable by a suitable handle, to advance the article as the slices are cut therefrom.

The article holder I7 is supported for reciprocatory movement with respect to the cutting plane of the knife, upon a carriage mounted in the base Ill, and preferably embodies a bar or member 20 extending transversely across the base, and to which bar is connected another bar or member 25, having spaced supporting rollers 22 journaled thereto. To the other end of the bar or member 20, is journaled a roller 23, which latter is preferably disposed in a plane intermediate the plane of the rollers 22.

The rollers 22 roll upon a track 24, and the roller 23 rolls upon a track 25. These tracks are disposed within the base It, and are spaced from the top of the base, being supported in any suitable manner.

As an additional means for guiding the carriage within the base it, there may be depending from the top 25 of the base it a central track 26 which is engaged by rollers Zl mounted upon the carriage and engaging opposite sides of the track.

A supporting bar or member 28 is secured to the reciprocating carriage thus formed, and extends through the slot H in the top of the base Ill, the lips or edges I2 of the slot ll standing close to the bar. The bar 28 is connected to the article support or holder ll in any suitable manner, so that by pushing or pulling upon the carriage, the article holder ll may be reciprocated as the rollers 22 travel upon the respective tracks. This arrangement of rollers for the carriage gives a three-point support, with its Well-known mechanical advantage.

A slice receiver 29 is supported for reciprocatory movement with the article holder I1, and also in a manner that it will be intermittently lowered in response to its reciprocation, so as to compensate or accommodate the size of the stack 3 as the slices are cut and superposed thereupon. To that end, there is provided a bracket or support 30, which is carried by the support or member, and is provided with spaced tubular upright portions 3|.

Depending from the receiver tray 29, are rods .or members 32 which telescope into the tubular portions 3|, and a handle 33 is provided for reciprocating the structure. The handle is arranged on the same side of the slicing plane as the receiver 29, and in a position that the operator may look down upon and View the slices as they are being cut and piled upon the receiver tray 29.

In order to cause the tray to be intermittently lowered as the slices'are cut and piled thereupon, there is provided a leading screw 34, which is operable by means of a ratchet wheel 35, to which latter motion is imparted by means of a pawl 36, carried by a piyotally mounted lever 37, which is moved in one direction by means of a spring 38. On one end of the lever there is preferably provided a roller 39, which, during the reciprocatory movement of the receiver 29, is moved into engagement with a cam 69, suitably supported, and arranged within the path of movement of the roller 39. The roller is held in a position to engage the cam, by means of the spring 38.

Connected to the bottom of the receiver 29, is a link 41, pivoted at one end, as at, to the receiver, and pivotally connected at its other end to' a sleeve or collar 43 that encompasses and moves upon the end of the screw 34. A dog 44 is pivotally mounted, as at '45, upon the link 4!, and projects through an opening 49 in the sleeve or collar 43, to engage the threads upon the screw 34. When the screw is rotated while the dog 44 is in engagement with its threads, the sleeve will 'be fed along thescrew, and the receiver tray 29 will be raised or lowered, according to the direction of rotation of the screw.

A lever l? may be provided and connected to the dog 44, to move the dog into and out of operative position with respect to the screw threads. A'spring 43 is also provided, which tends normally to move thedog into engagement with the screw threads. Thus by graspingthe handle 33, and reciprocating the article holder 17, and the receiving tray-'fiihthe roller 39 on the lever 37 will be moved into and out of contact with the cam P fill, to rock the'lever and to impart intermittent steps of rotation to the screw 34-, and thereby correspondingly lower the tray. The tray may be elevated by releasing the dog 44 and moving the sleeve l3 lengthwise of the screw.

Thecam 49 is connected to the gauge plate M in any suitable manner, so that when the gauge plate is adjusted to vary the thickness of the slice, the cam 99 will be correspondingly adjusted, so that the receiver tray 29 will be correspondingly lowered, according to the thickness of'the slice out.

With this construction, the movable frame, including the article holder and the receiving tray tion and arrangement of the several parts, within the scope of the claim, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed as new is:

A slicing machine of the character described comprising a hollow base, an inclined rotary slicing knife, an inclined substance support for feeding substance toward the cutting plane of said knife under aid of gravity, an adjustable gauge plate for determining thickness 0: slice, a movable carrier located within said hollow base, an elongated slot through the top of said base, an upright supporting barmounted on said carrier and extending upwardly through said slot, the sides'of said slot being flanged upwardly in close proximity to said-bar,-means mounting said substance support on the upper end of said bar, whereby said substance support may be moved past the cutting plane of said knife, a slice receiving tray mounted on said bar and movable therewith, a, plurality of rods depending fromsaid tray, a like plurality of tubular members adapted to receive telescopingly said depending rods, whereby said tray will be maintained in a horizontal plane at all'times, but maybe moved vertically, a leading screw disposed horizontally below said tray, a sleeve surrounding said screw and movable lengthwise thereof, a link pivoted at one'end to said tray and at its other end to said sleeve, a

dog pivotally mounted on said link and engaging the threads on said screw, whereby rotation of saidscrew will cause said tray to be raised or lowered, pawl and'ratchet means torotate said scre'wintermitten'tly by movement of said carrier, a striker attached'to said gauge plate and adjustable therewith, and, a, pivotally mounted lever carrying said pawl and adapted to contact said striker upon reciprocation of said carrier to r0- tate said screw and lower said tray, the adjusted position of said gauge .plate and striker determining the amount of movement of saidhorizont al tray in a vertical plane.

CORNELIS KLINGEN S.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of thispatent't UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 60 1,376,775 Luschka et a1 May 3, 1921 1,630,099v Van Berkel May 24, 1927 2,355,487 Van'B-erkel Aug. 8, 194.4 2,381,016 Waage Aug. 7, 1945, 2,402,519 Wood JunelB, 1946 

